President Barack Obama (D) has made his first Supreme Court appointment, nominating Sonia Sotomayor to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Justice David Souter at the end of the current court session. Sotomayor, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sotomayor currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which has jurisdiction over New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. She was originally appointed as a U.S. District Court judge in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush (R) before being appointed to the 2nd Circuit court by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1998. She is of Puerto Rican descent and grew up in a housing project in the Bronx, New York.
It is expected that Sotomayor will be confirmed by the Senate, where the Democratic Party currently holds a strong majority. She is expected to take her seat before the beginning of the next Supreme Court session in October.